April 5, 2000 12:11 PM Reuters

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, April 5 (Reuters) - Figure skating's ex-world pairs champion Elena Berezhnaya has been banned for three months.

Berezhnaya and her partner pulled out of the world championships in France after she tested positive for a banned stimulant at the European championships in February.

The Russian had been taking cough medicine to treat bronchitis.

A three-month ban was also handed out on Wednesday to Uzbekistan's Evgeny Sviridov who had also been taking medication inadvertently, the International Skating Union said.

The bans run from the day the samples were taken and both skaters can return to action in May.

Berezhnaya's withdrawal from the world championships in Nice got the event off to a sensational start.

She was was the first woman skater in the sport's history to test positive for a banned substance. The ISU have also stripped her and her partner Anton Sikharulidze of the European title they won in Vienna.

Berezhnaya's coach told reporters in Nice that the cough medicine had been prescribed by a doctor and the skater had not knowingly done anything wrong.

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